Story  of  the 

Western  Pacific 

Railway 


Compliments  of 
The  Denver  & Rio  Grande 
Railroad  Company 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/storyofwesternpaOOwest 


MARKET  STREET  FERRY 


Story  of  the  Western  Pacific 
Railway 


BEFORE  September,  1909,  there  will  be  in  operation  between  San 
Francisco  and  Salt  Lake  City  a new  Pacific  railroad,  the  most 
remarkable  in  point  of  construction  and  earning  power  which  the 
West  has  ever  seen  or  is  likely  to  see — the  Western  Pacific.  The 
mere  building  of  a line  through  a section  of  the  country  that  in  many 
parts  has  received  no  addition  to  its  transportation  agencies  since  the 
first  Pacific  road  was  opened,  forty  years  ago,  would  be  noteworthy.  In 
the  case  of  the  Western  Pacific,  however,  a more  significant  feature  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  new  line  is  a road  of  the  most  improved 
standard  construction,  built  with  a view  to  the  greatest  permanency  and 
ultimate  economy,  resulting  in  increased  earnings,  that  engineering  skill 


PAGE  TWO 


can  insure.  It  shows  that  the  pioneer  period  of  railroading  is  at  an  end 
in  the  west,  and  that  the  transportation  business  in  this  part  of  the 
country  lias  reached  tin*  same  settled  and  definite  basis  on  which  it 
rests  in  the  eastern  states. 

In  California  a part  of  the  new  road  is  already  in  operation  and 
the  completed  line  will  be  open  to  traffic  early  in  1909.  The  need  of 
a new  line  between  San  Francisco  and  the  great  coal  and  iron  territories 
of  Utah  and  Colorado  has  long  been  unquestioned.  The  whole  Pacific 
coast  region,  and  particularly  (he  fruit  and  grain-growing  sections  of 
California,  has  been  growing  at  a treinenduous  rate  and  the  volume  of 
both  its  outgoing  and  incoming  freight  has  been  limited  only  by  the 


THE  • OAKLAND  FERRY  SLIP  WITH  LIGHTHOUSE 


carrying  capacity  of  its  transportation  lines,  while  its  traffic  possi- 
bilities have  been  far  beyond  the  limits  of  these  existing  facilities. 

No  doubt  some  of  the  delay  in  solving  this  particular  transportation 
problem  came  from  the  belief  commonly  held,  and  voiced  by  Collis  P. 
Huntington  many  times  in.  the  statement  that  it  was  impossible  to 
build  a road  through  the  western  mountains  bn  the  standard  of  grades 
and  general  construction  adopted  by  the  old  and  prosperous  eastern 
lines.  What  he  declared  impossible  a few  years  ago  is  actually  attained 
to-day  on  the  new  Western  Pacific  line.  From  its  western  terminus  at 
San  Francisco  to  its  eastern  end  at  Salt  Lake  City,  where  as  a part  of  the 
Gould  system  it  joins  the  Denver  and  Rio  Grande  Railroad,  thus  afford- 
ing a western  outlet  to  that  road,  its  location,  and  construction  are  such 
as  to  set  a new  record  for  western  railroad  building  and  to  assure 


PAGE  THREE 


immediate  profitable  operation  such  as  lias  never  been  possible  in  the 
beginning  of  any  other  western  line. 

In  the  judgment  of  engineers,  western  railroad  con- 
EssentialsS'neermg  struction  has  three  essentials;  low  grades,  permanent 
construction,  and  freedom  from  snow.  The  road  most 
closely  conforming  to  these  requirements  would  be  most  successful  in 
accomplishing  its  final  purpose,  that  is,  in  combining  large  earnings 


RUNNING  THROUGH  THE  SIERRAS 


with  cheap  operation  and  maintenance.  In  all  three  of  these  essentials 
the  Western  Pacific  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired. 

The  maximum  grade  of  the  new  road  in  no  case  exceeds  one  per 
cent,  that  is,  a rise  of  52  feet  to  the  mile.  Westbound  for  80  per  cent  of 
its  length  the  heaviest  grade  is  only  four-tenths  of  one  per  cent,  or  about 
20  feet  to  the  mile.  The  superiority  of  the  Western  Pacific  over  the  other 
Pacific  lines  in  the  country  in  this  respect  is  shown  by  the  following 
table : 


PAGE  FOUR 


Maximum  gradient  Total  ascent  in 
in  feet  per  mile.  ft.  overcome. 


Highest 

rc* 

Name  of  It.  It. 

summits 

3 

2 

3 

a 

d 

Feet. 

o 

rO 

o 

pQ 

o 

H 

H 

► — 
£ 

Canadian  Pacific... 

2 summits 

242-4.58% 

116-2.2% 

17163 

16428 

Winnipeg  to  Vancou- 

5299 

ver  

4308 

Great  Northern... 

3 summits 

116-2.2% 

116-2.2% 

15987 

15305 

5202 

4146 

3375 

Northern  Pacific... 

3 summits 

116-2.2% 

116-2.2% 

18337 

17643 

5569 

5532 

2849 

Union  Pacific — Cen- 

3 summits 

116-2.2% 

105-2% 

18575 

17552 

tral  Pacific,  Orna- 

8247 

ha  to  San  Fran- 

7017 

cisco 

5631 

Union  Pacific — Ore- 

5 summits 

106-2% 

116-2.2% 

18171 

17171 

gon  Short  Line, 

8247 

Omaha  to  Port- 

6953 

land 

3537 

3936 

4204 

Santa  Fe 

6 summits 

175-3.3% 

185-3.5%' 

34126 

33543 

7510 

7453 

6987 

7132 

2575 

3819 

Western  Pacific.... 

2 summits 

52.8-1% 

52.8-1% 

9385 

5076 

5712 

5018 

The  real  significance  of  these  figures  to  the  person  who  is  interested 
in  them  less  as  the  expression  of  an  engineering  triumph  than  for  their 
bearing  on  the  financial  success  of  the  road,  may  best  be  expressed  as 
follows:  as  a result  of  its  easy  grade,  the  Western  Pacific  will  be  able 


PAGE  FIVE 


to  haul  as  heavy  a train  over  the  summit  of  its  line  with  one  locomotive 
as  ihe  best  of  other  existing  lines  handles  with  three.  There  is  a 
tremendous  saving  not  only  in  the  cost  of  operation,  but  in  mainten- 
ance and  cost  of  equipment  as  well.  From  this  point  of  view  alone 
the  Western  Pacific  can  show  a larger  net  earning  for  an  equal  amount 
of  traffic  than  can  any  other  line,  since  it  can  move  the  traffic  more 
cheaply — an  advantage  which  is  strongly  accentuated  as  other  features 
are  considered. 


SINGLE  LOCOMOTIX  E HAULING  28  LOADED  CARS  ON  HEAVIEST  GRADE 


Built  But  Once  The  importance  of  so  building  a road  that  it  need  be 
and  Built  built  but  once  has  been  strikingly  taught  by  the  later 

to  Last  experiences  of  the  old  Pacific  lines.  On  them  of  recent 

years,  in  reducing  grades,  strengthening  bridges,  eliminating  curves  and 
in  other  respects  reaching  a condition  of  increased  efficiency  and  in- 
creased earnings,  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  have  been  expended 
which  might  have  gone  into  the  pockets  of  stockholders  had  these 
roads  been  built  with  the  thoroughness  of  construction  that  characterizes 
the  Western  Pacific.  This  of  course  is  no  reflection  on  the  creators  of 
the  earlier  Pacific  roads.  When  these  lines  were  pushed  across  the  con- 
tinent the  building  of  any  kind  of  road  through  the  unsettled  western 


PAGE  SIX 


country  was  a remarkable  feat.  Financial  success  was  problematical. 
If  the  roads  had  not  been  built  cheaply  and  hastily  they  could  not  have 
been  built  at  all.  But  now  the  situation  is  very  different.  The  financial 
success  of  the  new  road  is  assured  by  traffic  conditions.  Even  the 
approximate  freight  earnings  of  this  new  line  during  its  first  year  of 
operation  may  be  estimated  with  reasonable  accuracy.  The  wisdom  and 
safety  of  the  investment  necessary  for  the  most  improved  and  most  per- 
manent form  of  construction  have  been  demonstrated.  The  best  location, 
both  from  an  engineering  and  from  a traffic  viewpoint,  has  been  indicated 


STEEL  AND  CONCRETE  BRIDGE  NEAR  OROVILLE,  CAL. 


by  years  of  investigation  of  routes  and  resources.  The  builders  of  the 
Western  Pacific  have  been  fortunate  in  that  they  were  able  to  profit  by 
the  accumulated  experience  of  forty  years  of  Pacific  railroad  operation. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  new  line  has  from  the  beginning 
adhered  to  the  most  exacting  standard,  driving  a tunnel  where  a tunnel' 
meant  a lower  grade  or  a shorter  line,  and  putting  in  steel  bridges  and 
viaducts  capable  of  carrying  the  heaviest  loads,  its  construction  has 
not  been  unduly  expensive.  True,  its  cost  will  come  close  to  $60,000  a 
mile;  but  this  is  low  as  compared  to  the  initial  cost  of  other  lines  plus 
the  tremendous  expense  of  later  improvements  which  still  leave  them 
far  behind  the  Western  Pacific  in  efficiency.  It  is  one  thing  to  build  a 


PAGE  SEVEN 


road  right  at  the  start,  but  something  entirely  different,  and  decidedly 
less  desirable  from  the  investor’s  point  of  view,  to  build  a road  cheaply 
and  to  continue  to  make  costly  improvements  which  never  can  make  it 
equal  to  a road  well  built  in  the  beginning.  Various  western  lines, 
at  heavy  expense,  are  now  increasing  the  weight  of  rails  used.  The 
Western  Pacific  is  installing  at  the  beginning  rails  of  the  highest  stan- 
dard used  on  the  western  roads.  Roughly,  it  may  be  said  with  truth 
that  every  dollar  spent  in  improved  construction  in  the  building  of  a 
road  means  a saving  of  two  dollars  later  on — a sufficient  indication  of 
the  wisdom  of  the  course  that  is  being  followed. 


To  those  unfamiliar  with  railway  operation  the  im- 
Liu/e  Sno n>,  portance  of  a snow-free  line,  the  third  great  factor  in 

commercial  success,  may  seem  relatively  slight.  Those 
who  so  regard  it  do  not  understand  western  conditions,  where  the 
maximum  snowfall  may  be  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet,  thus  impeding  or  en- 
tirely blocking  traffic  for  days  at  a time  during  the  winter  season.  In 
realit}'  the  success  of  the  engineers  of  the  Western  Pacific  in  achieving  a 
line  practically  free  from  snow  is  not  only  monumental  in  itself,  but  of 
tremendous  importance  from  the  commercial  point  of  view.  There  will 
not  be  a single  foot  of  snowslied  on  the  whole  line  of  the  Western  Pacific. 
None  will  be  necessary.  By  and  large,  snowsheds  cost  more  per  mile 
than  a railroad  itself.  On  one  of  the  most  important  Pacific  lines  the 
cost  of  snowsheds  is  given  as  $75,000  a mile.  There  are  forty  miles  of 
these  sheds,  and  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  protection  from  fire  during 
the  summer  months  is  a heavy  item  in  operating  expense.  All  this  ex- 
pense, whether  it  be  the  initial  charge  for  construction  or  the  further 
charge  for  maintenance,  the  Western  Pacific  avoids.  Throughout  the 
whole  line,  the  cost  of  keeping  the  tracks  clear  from  snow,  the  cost  of 
operating  snowplows  and  the  loss  from  the  traffic  delays,  will  be  reduced 
to  an  extent  that  will  remove  these  items  from  comparison  with  other 
Pacific  roads.  The  difference  in  this  respect  between  America’s  newest 
Pacific  line  and  its  nearest  competitor  is  shown  by  the  following- 
figures  : 


Snowfall  During  Winter  of  1906-1907. 


Western  Pacific 

Nearest  Competi 

( Beekwourtl i Pass ) 

( Summit ) 

Dec. 

8 in. 

40  in. 

Jan. 

13  “. 

96  “ 

Feb. 

none 

148  “ 

Total  for  three 

l 

— 

worst  months 

21  in. 

284  in. 

PAGE  EIGHT 


Scenic  Line 
of  America 


There  is  another  advantage  in  eliminating  snowslieds 
which  will  he  keenly  appreciated  by  passengers  who 
have  suffered  the  monotony  of  riding  through  mile 
after  mile  of  these  structures— that  is,  the  enjoyment  of  an  unobscured 
view  from  the  car  windows.  In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  snowslieds 
usually  are  placed  on  those  portions  of  the  line  where  the  view  if 
unobscured  would  be  most  attractive.  To  be  able  to  do  away  with  them 
on  a road  that  traverses  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  unusual  scenic 
regions  of  the  continent  is  certain  to  recommend  it  to  travellers.  The 
Denver  and  Rio  Grande  admittedly  passes  through  the  most  wonder- 
ful scenery  of  any  railroad  in  the  country.  But  the  new  Western 
Pacific,  a part  of  the  same  system,  will  be  a close  second  in  this  respect. 
The  two  together  will  form  the  most  continuously  beautiful  line  of  travel 
from  Denver  to  San  Francisco  which  can  ever  exist  in  this  country.  The 
advantages  of  a snowless  and  snowsliedless  line  in  reducing  the  cost  of 
operation  and  in  attracting  travel — particularly  tourist  travel  to  Cali- 
fornia, which  has  its  greatest  volume  in  the  winter  months — therefore 
are  entitled  to  rank  with  those  of  low  grades  and  model  construction. 


In  these  three  great  factors  of  success  from  an  engineering  point 
of  view,  the  Western  Pacific  excels  not  only  every  existing  line,  but  also 
any  that  may  be  built  in  the  future,  since  it  should  be  remembered 
by  those  unfamiliar  with  the  western  country  that  its  physical  limita- 
tions due  to  its  rugged  character  limit  the  number  of  possible  routes  to 
a scant  half-dozen. 


Entirely  aside  from  its  advantages  of  construction  and 
Freight  Traffic  equipment,  the  success  of  a railroad  as  a commercial 
enterprise  depends  on  its  traffic.  It  is  conceivable  that 
a road  might  be  built  which  would  be  a model  in  the  opinion  of  engineers, 
but  which,  as  viewed  by  investors,  would  be  a failure  because  of  inability 
to  earn  dividends.  In  forming  any  judgment  as  to  the  future  of  this  new 
Pacific  road,  it  is  essential  to  inquire  into  its  traffic  possibilities. 
Good  roadbed,  low  grades  and  freedom  from  curves,  assuring  fast  time, 
together  with  the  uninterrupted  views  which  it  gives  of  some  of  the 
most  remarkable  scenery  in  the  country,  and  an  uninterrupted  freight 
service,  assure  the  Western  Pacific,  in  conjunction  with  the  Denver  and 
Rio  Grande,  a heavy  passenger  traffic. 

How  is  the  new  road  situated  in  regard  to  freight,  the  great 
payer  of  fixed  charges  and  earner  of  dividends?  One  of  the 
most  profitable  lines  ever  built  was  constructed  in  the  following 
manner:  A map  of  the  territory  which  it  was  to  serve  was  marked 
in  colors  varying  in  density  according  to  the  volume  of  freight 


PAGE  NINE 


production.  Through  the  center  of  the  most  densely  colored  section  the 
track  was  laid.  “There  was  something  doing  every  minute,”  said  an 
official  of  the  line.  “No  road  ever  paid  better.”  The  principle  then  estab- 
lished of  following  the  line  of  maximum  freight  production  has  been 
adopted  by  the  Western  Pacific.  At  its  western  end  the  problem  was 
simple.  California’s  great  garden  produces  every  year  far  more  fruit, 
that  most  profitable  freight,  than  existing  lines  can  handle.  Much  of  it 
rots  on  the  ground  for  very  lack  of  transportation,  and  railroad  men 
frankly  admit  their  inability  to  handle  the  present  product.  Not  only 


IN  THE  HEART  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS.  SHOWING  EASY  CURVATURE 


is  this  the  case,  but  this  product  will  increase  greatly  with  every  increase 
of  transportation  facilities.  California,  with  practically  the  area  of 
France,  and  even  greater  productive  ability,  to-day  has  less  than  one- 
fifteenth  the  population  of  that  country.  Even  with  the  Western  Pacific 
in  full  operation  it  will  not  be  possible  to  care  for  the  potential  traffic, 
and  the  road’s  tonnage  will  be  limited  only  by  its  capacity. 

Northward,  along  the  line  of  the  new  road,  are  the  great  timber, 
mining,  and  cattle  industries.  Of  timber  alone  there  are  more  than 
100,000,000  car-loads  in  the  country  tributary  to  the  Western  Pacific — a 
mine  of  wealth  in  itself,  capable  of  paying  the  initial  cost  of  construction 


PAGE  TEN 


and  of  meeting  interest  and  dividend  charges  for  unnumbered  genera- 
tions. For  much  of  its  course  the  line  is  a pioneer,  the  first  railroad  to 
reach  sections  which  have  long  been  crying  for  transportation  of  a modern 
sort  and  waiting  to  yield  a harvest  of  gold  in  exchange  for  it.  Com- 
mercialism — the  dividend — has  to  do  not  with  possibilities,  but  actuali- 
ties, which  in  this  case  may  be  obtained  from  the  figures  of  town,  county 
and  state  reports. 

California's  Great  California’s  timber  production  in  1006  was 

Freight  Pro-  1,348,000,000  feet,  worth  $20,726,000,  and  there 

duction  are  millions  of  acres  of  practically  virgin  forest 

still  within  the  State.  Its  mines,  in  1906,  produced  gold  to  the  amount 
of  $18,832,000,  and  silver  to  the  amount  of  $1,027,000.  Some  of  the 
most  productive  gold-fields  of  the  State  are  in  the  territory  traversed 
by  the  Western  Pacific. 

There  are  also  to  be  considered  the  manufactories  of  the  State, 
which  use  raw  material  to  the  value  of  over  $125,000,000  annually,  and 
turn  out  over  $360,000,000  in  products.  These  manufacturing  industries 
are  largely  concentrated  in  San  Francisco,  Oakland,  Stockton  and 
Sacramento,  all  of  which  cities  the  Western  Pacific  serves. 

All  this  is  without  consideration  of  the  agricultural  product  of  the 
State,  which  is  greater  in  value  than  all  the  others  combined.  More  than 
90,000  carloads  of  fruit,  wine,  and  vegetables  alone  are  shipped  from 
the  State  annually,  and  the  trade  in  these  products  is  increasing  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  There  is  also  a heavy  traffic,  not  covered  by  these 
figures,  which  is  wholly  within  the  State,  from  the  producing  points 
to  t lie  distributing  centers,  and  especially  to  the  port  of  San  Francisco, 
which  in  1907  shipped  abroad  $33,000,000  of  goods  and  in  1906  nearly 
$40,000,000.  The  imports  into  San  Francisco,  which  for  the  most  part 
are  distributed  by  rail  to  interior  destinations,  were  $54,000,000  in 
1907  and  over  $44,000,000  in  1906. 


Rich  Country 
Along  Line 


It  is  possible,  however,  to  obtain  more  detailed  figures 
on  the  traffic  yielded  by  the  regions  which  the  Western 
Pacific  reaches.  In  California  the  road  touches  or 
crosses  the  counties  of  Lassen,  Plumas,  Sierra,  Nevada,  Butte,  Placer, 
Yuba,  Sutter,  Sacramento,  San  Joaquin,  Santa  Clara,  Alameda,  Contra 
Costa,  and  Solano.  These  counties  include  the  portions  of  the  Sierra, 
the  valley,  and  the  bay  regions  directly  tributary  to  the  road.  In  addi- 
tion, its  connections  in  the  south  will  open  to  it  the  San  Joaquin  valley, 
embracing  the  counties  of  Fresno,  Kings,  Madera,  Merced,  Stanislaus, 
Tulare  and  Kern,  the  trade  of  which  passes  naturally  through  Stockton. 


PAGE  ELEVEN 


In  the  year  1906  the  products  of  these  counties  shipped  out  of  the 
State  included  4,781,000  boxes  of  fresh  fruit,  118,519,000  pounds  of  other 
orchard  and  garden  products,  2,207,000  gallons  of  wine  and  brandy, 
5,662,000  pounds  of  wool  and  1,000,000  bushels  of  grain,  besides  dairy 
and  poultry  products  in  large  amounts. 

These  figures  do  not  by  any  means  represent  the  entire  product  of 
the  counties  mentioned,  but  merely  that  portion  which  was  reported 
as  shipped  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  State.  Even  on  this  point  they 


A SIERRA  TUNNEL 


are  not  a complete  representation  of  the  traffic  produced  by  the  district 
covered.  For  example,  those  portions  of  the  products  first  shipped  to 
one  of  the  several  distributing  points  within  the  State  and  then  trans- 
shipped to  destinations  in  another  State  are  in  large  part  not  included, 
or  are  credited  as  products  of  the  place  of  trans-shipment.  Nor  do  these 
figures  take  an}'  account  of  the  traffic  wholly  within  the  State.  The 
traffic  possibilities  of  the  territory  directly  reached  by  the  Western 
Pacific  may  be  better  indicated  by  figures  showing  some  of  the  products 
of  the  first  group  of  counties  enumerated — those  adjacent  to  the  main 
line  of  the  road.  These  included  in  1906,  among  other  articles, 


PAGE  TWELVE 


1.285.000. 000  pounds  of  green  fruit,  355,000,000  pounds  of  dried  fruits, 

14.000. 000  bushels  of  grain,  1,000,000  tons  of  hay  and  alfalfa,  2,000,000 
eases  of  canned  fruits  and  vegetables,  13,000,000  gallons  of  wine  and 
beer,  53,000  tons  of  sugar  beets,  12,000,000  pounds  of  butter  and  cheese, 

158.000. 000  feet  of  lumber.  In  addition,  the  manufactories  of  the 
counties  named  turned  out  in  1906  products  of  various  kinds  to  the 
value  of  $67,500,000. 


Mineral  Wealth 
Tapped  bp  Road 


The  total  mineral  product  of  California  for  1906  was 
$46,776,000.  Of  this  amount  the  fourteen  counties 
embraced  in  the  territory  directly  traversed  by  the 
Western  Pacific  Railway  produced  $9,713,000.  It  is  estimated  that  over 
$50,000,000  lias  been  taken  from  the  gold-bearing  gravel  beds  at  Oroville, 
and  lands  which  a few  years  ago  could  be  purchased  for  from  $10  to  $50 
an  acre  now  sell  at  from  $1,500  to  $2,000  an  acre. 


Quartz  and  hydraulic  mining  is  an  important  industry  in  Sierra, 
Plumas  and  other  mountain  counties.  In  Plumas  are  located  such 
famous  gold  producers  as  the  Plumas  Eureka,  from  which  $12,000,000 
has  been  taken,  the  Green  Mountain,  which  has  yielded  $7,000,000,  the 
Crescent,  Cherokee  and  Gold  Stripe.  The  gold  mines  of  Sierra  County 
have  yielded  $190,000,000.  There  are  also  extensive  copper  and  iron 
deposits,  which  are  awaiting  adecpiate  transportation  facilities  to  make 
their  development  profitable.  The  copper  deposits  of  this  region  are  the 
continuation  of  the  Shasta  belt,  on  which  are  situated  farther  north  the 
famous  Keswick,  Bully  Hill  and  other  properties,  producing  about 
$5,000,000  annually.  The  same  section  of  the  State  which  contains  the 
richest  mineral  resources  tributary  to  the  road  likewise  contains  the 
greater  part  of  the  standing  timber  in  the  Western  Pacific  territory. 


Nevada's  Pros- 
perous Future 
Assured 


From  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  to  Salt  Lake  City  the 
Western  Pacific  draws  a line  across  Nevada  and 
western  Utah.  Nevada  is  rich  in  mineral  resources, 
and  some  of  its  most  promising  districts  lie  along  the  route  of  the  new 
road.  Deposits  of  sulphur,  borax  and  salt,  gold,  silver  and  copper,  occur 
along  the  line  between  the  border  of  California  and  that  of  Utah. 
Moreover,  irrigation  has  proved  that  the  soil  of  Nevada  is  as  rich  as  any 
in  existence.  In  the  Truckee-Carson  river  country,  where  an  irrigation 
project  of  the  United  States  Government  is  reclaiming  some  350,000 
acres  of  land,  the  beginnings  of  a prosperous  agricultural  community  have 
already  sprung  up.  The  country  which  is  traversed  by  the  Western 
Pacific  is  as  rich  in  soil  potentialities  as  any  in  Nevada. 


PAGE  THIRTEEN 


When  the  Western  Pacific  is  in  operation  the  value  of  the  country 
will  be  realized  upon.  The  mines,  which  communication  will  make  it 
profitable  to  develop,  will  send  their  traindoads  of  ore  eastward  to  the 
smelters  in  Utah,  while  the  mining  communities  themselves  will  furnish 
markets  near  at  hand  for  the  lumber  and  farm  products  of  California, 
and  their  presence  will  encourage  the  further  development  of  grazing 
and  irrigation.  New  developments  like  those  of  Goldfield  and  Tonopah 
may  take  place  in  the  northern  regions  of  the  State. 


A BIT  OF  HEAVY  CONSTRUCTION,  SHOWING  ALIGNMENT 


Few  people  realize  the  rate  at  which  Nevada  has  grown,  despite  her 
lack  of  railroad  transportation.  During  the  decade  ending  with  1906, 
the  sales  of  public  lands  in  Nevada  amounted  to  over  1,600,000  acres. 
The  1907  wool  crop  of  the  State  was  6,000,000  pounds,  one-half  that  of 
California,  and  its  value  was  more  than  $1,250,000.  The  manufacturing 
industries  of  Nevada  use  raw  material  to  the  value  of  over  $1,600,000 
and  their  product  amounts  to  over  $3,000,000  yearly.  These  industries 
have  tripled  since  1900.  The  gold  production  of  the  State  in  1906  was 


PAGE  FOURTEEN 


$9,278,000.  ranking  after  Colorado,  Alaska  and  California.  The  previous 
year  it  was  $5,359,000.  There  was  also  a silver  production  of  $3,525,000, 
exceeded  in  amount  only  by  Montana,  Colorado,  Utah  and  Idaho. 

Westbound  In  Edition  to  the  freight  produced,  there  is  also  the 

Freight  Will  Test  freight  needed — a tremendous  item.  Could  the  west  get 
Capacity  it,  it  would  to-day  be  importing  from  the  east  many 

times  its  present  consumption.  Here  again  it  is  not  a question  of  the 
needs  of  the  west,  but  of  the  handling  capacity  of  the  existing  lines.  It 
is  a highly  conservative  estimate  that  from  the  day  on  which  it  opens 


WESTERN  PACIFIC  CROSSING  SOUTHERN  PACIFIC  BY 
STEEL  AND  CONCRETE  BRIDGE 


the  Western  Pacific  will  begin  with  earnings  of  more  than  $9,000  a mile, 
a record  unique  as  compared  with  any  other  western  line. 

An  important  element  of  strength  in  the  Western  Pacific  will  be  its 
connection  with  the  other  lines  of  the  great  Gould  system.  Prom  the 
eastern  members  of  this  system,  connecting  the  great  freight-producing 
centers,  the  Western  Pacific  will  receive  a large  volume  of  traffic,  together 
with  its  share  of  business  from  other  roads.  The  growth  of  the  Pacific 
coast  will  be  its  growth,  and  no  other  section  of  the  country  is  advanc- 
ing in  population,  wealth  and  products  at  half  the  pace  of  those  States 
included  in  the  Pacific  group. 


PAGE  FIFTEEN 


A truth  that  is  far  more  widely  appreciated  among  rail- 
IV es tern  Pacific  s road  managers  to-day  than  it  was  a generation  ago  is 

that  a road  cannot  succeed  without  adequate  terminals. 
At  San  Francisco  the  Western  Pacific  holds  exceedingly  valuable  ter- 
minal properties  on  both  sides  of  the  Bay.  On  the  San  Francisco 
side  it  has  269  acres,  of  which  those  devoted  to  the  local  freight  ter- 
minal, 53  acres  in  all,  are  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  only  seven  blocks  from 
the  City  Hall.  Connecting  with  this  is  the  waterfront  equipment  of 
storage  yards  and  docks  comprising  216  acres.  On  the  Oakland  side 
there  are  361  acres,  and  between  the  two  lies  the  most  direct  passage 
across  the  bay.  Indications  of  careful  foresight  and  planning,  the  ex- 
pression of  financial  and  engineering  acumen,  appear  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  these  terminal  facilities  and  in  the  wise  provision  for  accommo- 
dating future  growth  in  traffic. 

Along  this  busy  waterfront  are  gathered  vessels  from  all  the  seven 
seas,  bringing  the  products  of  the  Orient,  the  Pacific  Islands,  golden 
Alaska,  and  far-off  Australasian  lands,  to  receive  in  exchange  the  grain 
and  machinery  and  other  manufactures  of  America,  brought  westward 
by  the  railroads.  As  varied  they  are  as  the  early  ships  of  the  Argonauts 
which  anchored  here  in  ’49,  if  not  as  picturesque. 

It  was  the  prospect  of  overseas  trade,  added  to  their  military  import- 
ance, that  led  the  Federal  government  to  aid  in.  the  construction  of  the 
early  Pacific  lines.  Nobody  gave  much  thought  to  the  possibilities  of 
traffic  development  along  the  lines  themselves  that  would  lie  stimulated 
by  their  construction.  The  export  and  import  trade  of  the  Pacific  coast 
is  of  vastly  greater  importance  to-day  than  it  was  in  this  earlier  period, 
and  is  certain  to  expand  with  the  expansion  of  American  interests  in  the 
Pacific,  but  the  growth  of  traffic  originating  in  local  territory  has  been  so 
marvellous  that  it  has  relegated  the  foreign  trade  to  the  background  in 
the  calculations  of  railway  builders  and  managers. 


Making  of 
Ne tv  Road 


A railroad  in  the  making,  particularly  a western  rail- 
road like  the  Western  Pacific,  which  marks  a new 
epoch  in  railway  construction,  is  one  of  the  most 
tremendous  undertakings  that  this  land  of  great  enterprises  can  show. 
Scattered  along  the  line  as  it  gradually  takes  form  are  many  camps 
and  many  men,  all  of  them  under  the  guidance  of  the  chief  engineer,  a 
sort  of  omnipotent  mentality  who  knows  every  foot  of  a thousand-mile 
course  more  thoroughly  than  the  average  man  knows  his  parlor  floor. 
To  go  with  him  along  the  line,  to  visit  the  scenes  of  a thousand  activi- 
ties, a thousand  battles  that  are  being  fought  and  won,  is  to  sense  in 
the  highest  degree  the  romance  of  railroad  building,  tempered  and  in- 


PAGE  SIXTEEN 


spiretl  by  the  necessity  of  building  right.  In  the  case  of  the  Western 
Pacific  there  lias  been  added  to  this  the  necessity  of  building  perma- 
nently, for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  western  railroading.  The 
tremendous  sums  which  have  been  spent  on  the  rebuilding  of  other 
Pacific  lines,  sums  which  had  they  been  built  right  at  first  might  have 
been  returned  to  investors,  have  taught  their  lesson.  The  ideal  which 
Huntington  scorned  as  impossible,  while  admitting  that  if  attainable 
it.  would  mean  a line  surpassing  all  others,  has  been  attained  in  the 
Western  Pacific. 


STANDARD  CONCRETE  CULVERT 


Out  from  San  Francisco  the  road  runs  easterly  and  then  turns  to 
I Ik*  north,  skirting  on  the  east  the  half-submerged  “tule  lands”  and 
following  a direct  line  from  Stockton  to  Sacramento,  Marysville  and 
Oroville.  This  part  of  the  line  has  been  designed  to  tap  the  richest 
of  California’s  great  valleys,  producing  annually  millions  of  tons  of 
freight  which  cannot  be  handled  by  existing  lines.  From  Sacramento 
to  the  south  are  broad  and  productive  valleys,  rich  in  freight  and  offer- 
ing little  in  the  way  of  difficult  problems  to  the  railroad  engineer.  North 
of  Oroville,  stretching  across  the  eastward  route,  loom  the  Sierras — 
mountains  so  forbidding  and  rough  that  in  the  length  of  a thousand  miles 


PAGE  SEVENTEEN 


the  passes  through  which  a railroad  may  go  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand.  To  follow  the  line  of  the  railroad  through  this  country  as  did 
the  writer,  by  wagon,  on  horseback,  and  afoot,  to  meet  the  men  who  are 
forcing  nature  to  retreat  and  to  yield  a line  which  will  be  the  finest  that 
the  west  has  ever  seen,  which  will  carry  over  its  track  innumerable  tons 
of  waiting  freight,  is  to  get  at  the  very  root  of  the  greatest  romance  of 
all,  the  romance  of  commercial  achievement. 


STRAIGHT  LINE  SHOWING  HEAVY  ROCK  BALLAST 


Oroville,  the 
“City  of  Gold ” 


From  Sacramento  to  Oroville  the  line  runs  up  that 
part  of  the  Sacramento  valley  watered  by  the  Feather 
River,  oue  of  the  greatest  fruit-growing  sections  of  the 
country.  This  portion  of  the  line  south  from  Oroville  to  Oakland  is  the 
part  first  opened  to  traffic,  producing  an  important  income  even  before 
the  road  is  finished.  Oroville  itself  for  more  than  half  a century  has 
been  the  southern  gateway  for  all  the  trade  of  the  wonderfully  rich 
country  of  the  Feather  River,  and  is  the  point  through  which  most  of 
its  supplies  come.  Strangely  enough,  until  the  coming  of  the  Western 


PAGE  EIGHTEEN 


Pacific,  Oroville  lias  never  been  located  on  a through  railway  line.  The 
Southern  Pacific  has  a spur  running  northward  from  its  main  line  to 
Oroville,  but  that  has  been  all  that  the  town  has  had  in  the  way  of 
steam  transportation  facilities.  The  Western  Pacific,  seeking  to  serve  this 
important  traffic-producing  region,  lias  swung  north  of  the  Southern 
Pacific,  reaching  into  new  territory,  not  to  cross  the  older  line  until 
midway  across  Nevada.  One  reason  for  following  this  route  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  in  the  territory  tapped  there  is,  at  a conservative  estimate, 
more  than  100,000,000  carloads  of  timber  alone. 

“City  of  Gold”  is  the  literal  equivalent  of  Oroville;  and  city  of  gold 
it  really  is.  Sluiced,  liydrauliced,  mined  in  every  possible  way  from  the 
earliest  times,  this  city  on  the  gold-bearing  Feather  River  is  still  one  of 
the  greatest  gold  producers  in  the  country.  But  it  is  a sad  spectacle 
for  the  landscape  gardener.  Girt  around  by  green  orchards  and  ranches, 
its  midst  is  a bare  waste— unending  heaps  of  bare  brown  hills  of  dirt 
and  gravel  piled  up  by  the  dredges  which  can  pay  good  returns  by  chew- 
ing up  the  soil  at  the  rate  of  2,000  yards  a day,  with  a yield  of  twenty 
cents  a ton  in  gold.  Eating  up  the  country  as  they  go,  these  huge 
monsters  leave  behind  them  only  a macerated  mess  of  barrenness. 
Watching  the  huge  scoops  as  they  draw  in  the  earth,  one  sees  old 
diggings,  tunnels  and  shafts,  ruthlessly  torn  away — the  memories  of 
former  searchers  for  wealth.  But  as  one  man  said,  the  commercial  in- 
stinct cropping  up,  “it's  a great  country  for  freight.” 

Northward  on  the  foaming  Feather  River,  three  miles  above  the 
city,  there  is  a great  steel  bridge,  indicative  in  its  solidity  of  the  whole 
road,  and  at  the  bridge  is  a station  called  Bidwell.  It  is  named  after 
the  old  pioneer,  scout  and  Indian  fighter,  General  Bidwell.  One  may 
wonder  at  the  solidity  and  permanence  of  this  bridge,  typical  of  the 
whole  line.  But  the  wonder  disappears  when  the  wrath  of  the  Feather 
River  is  known — the  wrath  capable  of  tearing  down  any  wooden  struc- 
ture above  its  course.  With  the  melting  of  the  winter  snows  it  mounts 
by  feet  to  the  point  which  an  engineer  described  as  one  “unsafe  for  any- 
thing but  steel.” 

“ Perfection  of  The  further  one  traverses  the  line  of  the  Western 

Construction  Pacific,  the  more  one  realizes  the  perfection  of  the  con- 

Methods  struction  methods  employed,  its  inevitably  low  cost  of 

operation  and  its  wealth  of  potential  freight.  Up  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Feather  River,  and  then  eastward  on  the  east  branch  to  the  junction  with 
the  Middle  Fork,  is  a country  teeming  not  only  with  freight  and  riches, 
but  with  romance.  There  is  Rich  Bar,  once  the  stampeding  ground  of 
gold  seekers  on  the  Feather  River,  which  within  its  small  confines  held 


PAGE  NINETEEN 


a warring,  brawling  population  of  3,000  persons.  They  are  gone  now, 
and  the  boisterous  camp  of  early  years  is  a peaceful  ranching  country. 
Scores  of  “flats,”  as  they  are  called,  mark  the  course  of  the  river,  with 
level  farming  territory,  and  mountains  rising  on  each  side  in  scenery 
which  in  its  variety  and  continuity  is  excelled  along  no  railroad  in  the 
country.  For  the  greater  part  of  its  course  on  the  North  fork  the 
railroad  follows  the  left  bank  of  the  rushing  stream.  The  old  Indian  trail 


BUILT  TO  LAST.  AN  EXAMPLE  OF  WESTERN  PACIFIC 
BRIDGE  CONSTRUCTION 


followed  the  right  bank.  Naturally  one  would  expect  that  the  railroad 
too  would  follow  it  instead  of  the  other,  where  before  it  came,  passage 
was  impossible  even  for  a man  on  foot.  But  in  these  gulches  and 
canons  the  snow  may  vary  many  feet  on  the  two  sides,  and  so  the 
Western  Pacific,  looking  for  a snow-free  route,  chose  the  sunny  side.  As 
a result  there  will  be  no  impeding  of  traffic,  and  no  monotonous  runs 
through  snowsheds  to  weary  travellers  and  to  entail  great  initial  ex- 
pense and  resultant  cost  of  upkeep.  The  wonderful  scenery  will  spread 
before  the  traveller’s  eye  unbroken  by  the  blur  of  snowsheds. 


PAGE  TWENTY 


There  is  Dutch  Bar,  too,  on  the  way  up  the  river.  Once  a thickly 
populated  and  famous  mining  camp,  it  has  now  only  a few  hundreds 
of  residents.  But  the  change  in  population  lias  been  a change  in  pro- 
duction, and  to-day  the  district  is  teeming  with  potential  freight  waiting 
for  the  coming  road.  Far  up  in  the  Sierras  the  line  leaves  the  north- 
ward bearing  North  Fork  for  its  east  branch,  and  finally,  in  Plumas 
County,  to  follow  the  Middle  Fork,  and  thus  eastward.  Here  valley 
follows  valley  of  wonderful  fertility,  girt  around  by  rich  timber,  mineral, 
grazing  and  agricultural  districts.  Spring  Garden,  American,  Indian, 
Mohawk  and  Sierra — these  are  but  a few  of  the  valleys  waiting  for  the 
railroad  to  move  their  freight.  In  Spring  Garden  valley,  by  the  combina- 
tion of  a mile-long  loop  and  a 7, 300-foot  tunnel,  the  engineers  have  main- 
tained the  standard  of  a one  per  cent  maximum  grade  and  a snow-free 
route. 

One  of  the  problems  to  be  solved  in  this  mountain  country  of  swell- 
ing and  shrinking  streams  is  that  of  drainage — the  question  of  success- 
fully disposing  of  the  water  rushing  down  the  mountain  sides  in  such 
a way  as  best  to  protect  the  roadbed.  In  the  past,  as  every  traveller 
knows,  these  streams  have  been  carried  directly  under  the  roadbed 
through  culverts  or  similar  construction.  But  on  the  Western  Pacific, 
with  permanency  and  safety  always  in  mind,  a different  method  has  been 
employed,  ingenious  in  its  conception.  Instead  of  carrying  straight  down 
I he  devasting  mountain  streams  with  their  impinging  heads,  which  more 
often  than  anything  else  bring  washouts  and  consequent  losses,  the  en- 
gineers have  used  the  best  modern  practice.  The  water  is  still  carried 
under  the  roadbed,  as  it  runs  along  the  mountain  side.  In  the  first  place, 
however,  it  is  diverted,  that  is,  carried  to  one  side  before  it  is  allowed 
to  run  out  through  a culvert;  and  second,  before  being  brought  to  the  point 
of  discharge,  its  grade  is  carried  level,  thus  reducing  its  force  to  a 
minimum  and  eliminating  the  danger  of  washouts. 

Beyond  Mohawk  valley,  in  a territory  of  surpassing  richness  and 
beauty,  the  liue  crosses  Sierra  valley  to  Beckwourth  Pass  and  thence  to 
western  Nevada.  At  the  northeast  corner  of  this  valley,  a tract  of 
some  67,000  acres  underlain  by  water  easily  reached  by  means  of  artesian 
wells,  and  capable  of  great  production,  lies  Beckwourth  Tunnel,  6,006 
feet  in  length,  giving  onto  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Sierras  into  Long 
Valley. 

At  the  eastern  end  of  the  tunnel  is  a station  called  Rainbow.  The 
naming  of  it  is  in  itself  a pretty  piece  of  romance.  Its  many  problems, 
now  happily  solved,  gave  to  the  chief  engineer  considerable  worry.  On 


PAGE  TWENTY-ONE 


one  gray  rainy  afternoon,  when  things  were  all  at  sixes  and  sevens,  as 
he  was  coming  over  the  line  of  the  tunnel  he  saw  at  its  eastern  end  a 
rainbow,  apparently  touching  the  earth  almost  at  the  eastern  portal. 
From  that  auspicious  event  came  the  name  of  the  station. 

Once  over  the  Sierras  the  engineering  problems,  while  perhaps  not 
so  spectacular,  have  nevertheless  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  the 
finest  display  of  engineering  skill  in  railroad  construction  to  be  found 
in  the  west  to-day.  Conditions  have  been  so  skillfully  met  that  the 
Western  Pacific,  as  it  stretches  across  eastern  Nevada  and  Utah,  easily 
surpasses  in  permanency,  easy  curvature  and  low  grades  any  other  of 


TYPE  OF  PLATE  GIRDER  BRIDGE 


the  existing  lines.  Evidences  of  the  most  careful  and  far-seeing  construc- 
tive skill  are  everywhere  apparent,  as,  for  example,  in  the  long  stretch 
of  level  track  across  the  Salt  Lake  Desert  on  which  trains  can  maintain 
a speed  of  TO  miles  an  hour. 

From  its  passage  through  the  Sierras,  the  Western  Pacific  continues 
its  course  toward  the  east  to  the  north  of  the  Southern  Pacific  until 
running  somewhat  south  of  east  it  crosses  that  road  at  Palisade  in 
Nevada.  Thence  it  is  always  to  the  south  of  the  older  road,  running  in 
nearly  a straight  line  from  that  point  to  Salt  Lake  City. 

Just  west  of  the  state  line,  between  Nevada  and  Utah,  lies  the  great 
Flower  Lake  Pass  Tunnel,  so  named,  apparently,  because  there  is  a 
mud  lake  there.  At  the  edge  of  the  desert  the  road  meets  the  Delle  pipe 


PAGE  TWENTY-TWO 


line  which  brings  water  from  the  mountains  to  supply  the  locomotives. 
From  the  eastern  end  of  this  mile-long  tunnel,  on  which  occurs 
the  highest  elevation  of  the  line,  the  road  dips  down  into  the 
great  Salt  Lake  Desert,  and  runs  eastward  to  Salt  Lake  City. 
On  this  section  occurs  what  is  probably  the  longest  stretch  of 
straight  and  level  track  in  the  West.  Running  across  the  des- 
ert it  lies  straight  and  flat  for  nearly  forty-five  miles — the  first 
road  to  penetrate  this  stretch  of  salt  and  sand.  Here  is  another 
romance — that  of  the  Desert,  and  another  commercial  factor — the  great 


LONG  LEVEL  STRAIGHTAWAY  STRETCH  CROSSING  GREAT 
SALT  LAKE  DESERT 

salt  beds.  For  twenty  miles  the  road  crosses  them — beds  of  solid  salt 
which,  now  some  eight  feet  deep  on  the  average,  used  to  be  a thousand 
feet  below  the  surface  of  that  now  comparatively  shrunken  body  of 
water — the  Great  Salt  Lake.  Until  the  coming  of  the  Western  Pacific 
no  engineers  had  dared  to  attempt  the  crossing  of  this  desert  a 
weirdly  fascinating  region  with  its  wonderful  colors  of  sunrise  and  sunset. 

Around  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  the  line  moves 
At  Salt  Lake  into  Salt  Lake  City,  923  miles  by  the  road  from  the 

bay  of  San  Francisco.  Throughout  its  length  it  is 
marked  in  a wonderful  manner  by  a construction  new  to  that  territory. 


PAGE  TWENTY-THREE 


It  is  a road  built  right  in  the  beginning,  with  sucli  grades,  easy  curvature 
and  absence  of  snow  as  to  give  it  an  advantage  over  all  others. 

In  the  care  and  study  which  have  been  given  to  its  location,  in  the 
thoroughness  with  which  the  engineers  and  constructors  have  done  their 
work  of  providing  speed,  safety,  and  economy  of  operation,  together 
with  its  assured  tremendous  earnings,  the  Western  Pacific  represents  the 
latest  word  in  American  railroading.  And  finally,  in  addition  to  all 
its  wonderful  features,  calculated  to  make  it  the  most  profitable  line 
which  the  west  has  ever  known,  there  is  this  important  one.  It  is  not 
a struggling,  independent  line,  but  a part  of  a great  railway  system, 
stretching  out  across  the  continent  and  uniting  its  great  freight-produc- 
ing sections. 

Aside  from  its  assured  position,  because  of  the  freight  in  sight,  its 
perfect  construction,  the  proportionately  large  earnings  assured,  and 
the  cheapness  of  operation,  the  growth  of  the  Western  Pacific  from 
this  remarkable  beginning  will  in  a large  part  be  the  growth  of  the 
Pacific  coast.  No  other  section  of  the  country  is  advancing  in  population, 
wealth  and  products  at  half  the  pace  of  those  States  included  in  the 
Pacific  group,  and  as  a result  no  other  road  has  such  an  assured  initial 
income  or  such  a promising  future  as  the  Western  Pacific. 


